COMEDY NIGHT PERFORMANCE
Disclaimer: First off, this is a response to an adult comedy night- over 18yrs. “We should be able to enjoy some adult comedy. If you’re easily offended, then f*** off!”
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Last week I went to a comedy gig in Leicester Square. As I listened, laughed, and looked around at the audience, I noticed a crowded theatre full of people facing glaringly towards the front of the stage, drink in hand. There was a sense of immediacy in the theatre - freedom to move, exit, entry, constant flow of alcohol, one joke after another, and almost no time to digest the situation or the performance. I wonder if this immediate entertainment, forced attention from the spectators, was a ploy to round up a full-house and make the audience feel comfortable and enjoy the performance experience? I could easily disengage in the performance if I wanted to. The show didn’t ask anything of me except for being nearly present. I could go out for a cigarette or enjoy my glass of wine and tune out, or I could listen to the comedy, but the whole scene of events was more generalized than being particular about what I, as an audience member, was supposed to focus on. Although this may seemingly advocate the autonomy of the audience and the individual, I felt a bit lost, slipping in and out of my own awareness and not sure of my participation.
All the jokes were stereotypical, broad generalizations based around universal concepts such as race, gender, nationality, sex, and work. Maybe comedians try/wish to change or enlighten others about such topics, but most of the time I felt these generalized jokes reiterated all the negative. Does this really get people thinking, or is it imperative that comedians research how to perform? What does comedy do to spectatorship? I felt dumbed down by the comedian’s bluntness and the comforts and the lack of focus or specificity within the arena. Does this sense of dumbing down the audience help or deter an audience from the situation? How is a performance beneficial if it functions in such a way that plays with the idea that people are stupid, needy of booze and fun and offensively broad statements without any room for interaction? Well, I suppose in stand-up comedy one could interact and cockily shout something back at the comedian, but only if s/he is then willing to accept more criticism and offensive language in return. What does this do to subjectivity?
Like the disclaimer above, which more or less was stated at the beginning of the comedy night, do program notes for dance performances act in a similar way- inviting people into the piece by immediate separation? In other words, if you don’t know what to expect, here it is, we’ll tell you what it’s about, and if you don’t like it then you shouldn’t be here. Here’s some food for thought: How does this experience relate to contemporary dance performances? Are we, as performers, just being safe to assume pleasure and universals onto our audiences without also assuming the distance that we may be creating?
